J.J. Abrams on General Leia, midi-chorlians, and post-credit scenes

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Less than two weeks away from the premiere of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, we are. I'll kick things off by reminding people that if you're looking to stay free of any spoilers, it'd be best to avoid most Star Wars articles. I would consider what follows to be rather minor on the spoiler front, but your opinion may differ so consider this your warning if you'd rather know as little as possible on the home stretch.

Peter Sciretta of /Film sat down with J.J. Abrams and the subject of the Force and midi-chlorians arose. For those of you who have blocked it out of your memory, midi-chlorians were first mentioned in STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE and were described as a microscopic life form that resided within all living cells and let its host feel the Force. J.J. Abrams said that he "would never presume to question anything George Lucas says is canon in Star Wars. And our job was not to negate or undo," but added:

I’m not someone who quite understands the science of the Force. To me Star Wars was never about science fiction — it was a spiritual story. And it was more of a fairytale in that regard. For me when I heard Obi-Wan say that the Force surrounds us and binds us all together, there was no judgement about who you were. This was something that we could all access. Being strong with the force didn’t mean something scientific, it meant something spiritual. It meant someone who could believe, someone who could reach down to the depths of your feelings and follow this primal energy that was flowing through all of us. I mean, that's what was said in that first film!

And there I am sitting in the theater at almost 11 years old and that was a powerful notion. And I think this is what your point was, we would like to believe that when shit gets serious, that you could harness that Force I was told surrounds not just some of us but every living thing. And so, I really feel like the assumption that any character needs to have inherited a certain number of midi-chlorians or needs to be part of a bloodline, it’s not that I don’t believe that as part of the canon, I’m just saying that at 11 years old, that wasn’t where my heart was. And so I respect and adhere to the canon but I also say that the Force has always seemed to me to be more inclusive and stronger than that.

From Abrams' words, it seems likely that STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS won't retcon the midi-chlorians, but will instead avoid mentioning them altogether. Speaking of midi-chlorians and the Jedi's who make use of them, J.J. Abrams spoke with IGN and he was asked why Leia (Carrie Fisher) didn't pursue her Jedi roots once she learned of her origins in STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI.

It's funny because, in talking about this even with George Lucas, the question of at what age can someone learn the Force and become a Jedi, and I would like to think that there really isn't much of a ticking clock and that it's never too late. We talked about [it] quite a bit, even with Carrie [Fisher], if there was another, why did she not take advantage of this natural Force strength that this character had, and one of the answers was that it was simply a choice that she made, that her decision to run the Rebellion, and ultimately this Resistance, and consider herself a General as opposed to a Jedi, it was simply a choice that she took, and not that there's any regret that she could have and didn't, but clearly we've seen, and we do again, that she's still Force-strong, and it's something that is an intrinsic piece of her character.

Now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise, some were wondering if the new films would follow Disney's other massive franchise, Marvel, and throw in a mid-credit and/or post-credit scene following the close of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. During a recent press-conference for the film, J.J. Abrams assured fans that STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS will NOT contain any sort of mid-credits or post-credits scene. Once that final wipe splashes across the screen, you won't be missing anything else if you have to leave the theater.

The December 18, 2015 release of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is nearly upon us.